Advancing faculty diversity in nursing education: Strategies for success

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Higher Education Administration
• Health Equity

Background:

• Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are crucial for academic excellence in nursing.
• Hiring diverse nursing faculty faces challenges due to institutional gatekeeping, racism, and implicit bias.
• A low percentage of nursing faculty of color persists, hindering DEI goals.

Purpose of the Study:

• To provide nursing administration leaders and hiring committees with a stepwise strategy for equitable faculty recruitment.
• To outline methods for mitigating bias and attracting diverse, high-caliber applicants.
• To enhance transparency, fairness, and systematic approaches in the nursing faculty hiring process.

Main Methods:

• Review of specific strategies for faculty hiring, from pre-search to report submission.
• Description of tools and evidence to mitigate bias in hiring practices.
• Inclusion of implicit bias types, evaluation rubrics, and self-reflection questions.

Main Results:

• A multi-prong, just, transparent, systematic, and strategic approach is necessary for effective hiring.
• Strategies are provided to attract diverse applicant pools and conduct fair evaluations.
• Tools are offered to support ongoing reflection and improvement of hiring practices.

Conclusions:

• Addressing institutional barriers and implicit biases is essential for increasing nursing faculty diversity.
• Implementing structured and transparent hiring processes can advance opportunities for diverse faculty.
• Continuous improvement and self-reflection are key to successful DEI initiatives in nursing education hiring.